Bhubaneswar, Capital of Orissa, is known for its splendid Buddhist and Hindu temples. "Bhubaneswar" means the "abode of God" or "master of the universe". Appropriately enough, it is called "The city of temples" : the city once boasted over 7,000 temples, though in modern times that number has decreased to a still impressive 500. Most famous is the Lingaraj Temple, featuring an ornately carved spire that is 40 meters high. It is the temple of Shiva, the destroyer. Others include the 10th century Mukteshwar Temple and 11th century Raja Rani Temple.
The Bhubaneswar township is established in the year 1950s However the Old town has all the history in to it. Old town is of hundreds of year old, and more would be the adjucent sisupal garh and before that the hostory of King Ashoka and the great fight at Dhauli Giri. Khandagiri and Udaya Giri of Bhubaneswar has the history from the age of the age of prophet Gautama Buddha. Meaning thereby Bhubaneswar has the history of thousand years. Lingarj Temple and the areas are popularly known as old town. Posh locality like Saheed Nagar and Forest Park which has palacial bunglows have their own culture and life style.
Bhubaneswar is famous for different puja celebrations like Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja, Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja mostly being celebrated by the different area residents in different club pendals. One of the most famous Puja pendal is Saheed Nagar Durga Puja wherein During the dussera festival the Huge Efficacy of Ravana being torched where millons on people across the country gathered. So is the khati culture of the younger generation in Bhubaneswar is famous for. Khati (Gathering of like minded people in any particular area used to gather for general discussions) like Keshari Khati, Mausi Khati has their own sancitity and culture. Bhubaneswar though was in the 1980s was majored by the beurocratic / babus and now the life style has been changed with wide corporatisation with opening of many a Corporate Houses like Infosys, Satyam, Reliance, Tatas, and the major projects being opened including NALCO, Pohang Steel, Iffco Plant at Paradweep, Indian Oil, NTPC power projects etc.
Bhubaneswar is a modernly built city with fine, wide roads, with a nice juxtaposition of modern and ancient buildings. Bhubaneswar industry is centered around textiles, and the city is a link in India's weaving belt that stretches to the Northeast Hill States.
Nearby Bhubaneswar attractions include Chandaka Forest, a sanctuary for wild elephants, and its Daytrips, which features a botanical garden and India's largest lion and tiger safari. Also, the Daytrips hills just outside of town offer spectators a network of caves bearing human evidence from the first century BC. It is told that if you stay in the night in the hills, you can listen to sages chanting "shlokas" from within the rocks of the hills. Ten kilometers from Bhubaneswar, you will also find Dhauli, a famous Budhist monastery. |
